The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
UAB Continues Road Stretch at Memphis on Thursday
2/3/2010 12:00:00 AM | Women's Basketball
Feb. 3, 2010
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. -- The UAB women's basketball team hits the road for the third straight game, traveling to Memphis, Tenn. on Thursday to face the Memphis Tigers at 7 p.m. CST.
Although Memphis leads the overall series, 25-17, UAB has dominated lately, winning seven of the last eight meetings. The two teams split the series last year, with Memphis earning a 65-60 win in Birmingham in February and UAB capturing a 71-62 win in Memphis in January. Since both teams joined C-USA in the 1995-96 season, the Tigers are 15-9 against the Blazers. UAB is 6-12 overall when playing at Memphis and 4-7 as a member of C-USA. Under UAB head coach Audra Smith, the Blazers are 7-2 against the Tigers, including a 4-0 record at Memphis.
The Blazers (10-9, 4-3 C-USA) are coming off a pair of overtime losses last weekend. UAB dropped an 85-84 decision in double overtime at Marshall on Saturday and fell to East Carolina, 78-74, in overtime last Thursday.
Freshman guard Jala Harris paces the team with 17.2 points a game, good for second in Conference USA, while her 23-point average in league-only games tops the conference. Senior forward Tamika Dukes also has been a consistent threat for the Blazers, averaging 12.4 points a game and a team-leading 7.1 rebounds a game.
Prior to the Tigers' 76-59 loss to East Carolina on Saturday, they had been on a roll, winning four in a row and seven of the last eight. Memphis (12-8, 5-2 C-USA) is led by Brittany Carter, averaging a league-leading 18.6 points a game. Savannah Ellis has had the hot hand, shooting 50.7 percent and averaging a team-leading 6.8 rebounds a game, while Alex Winchell is the team's leading 3-point shooter at 32.7 percent.
